Exploring the Impacts of COVID-19 on the Youth Justice System, 2021-2022

However, for those in the youth justice system, the impacts were likely to be exceptional. A disproportionate number of these children had complex needs, were from BAME backgrounds, had experienced school exclusions, and many came from groups with generally worse outcomes than average, including those with exposure to adverse childhood experiences (Bateman, 2017). The youth justice system faced a strange hiatus; on the one hand, criminal trials were delayed and arrests were down, while on the other, existing issues of BAME disproportionality, mental health, domestic abuse, and school engagement were areas of acute risk for justice-involved children. There was an urgent need to develop a clear understanding of the impact of the pandemic on these children and those who worked with them. Indeed, there had been a lack of focus on this group both from a political and media perspective.

We did know that the pandemic had had unprecedented implications and consequences for the youth justice system, from how professionals had to adapt to remote working, the delay of criminal trials, and the safety of children in custodial settings. Liaising with our youth justice colleagues, we knew that each stage of the youth justice system responded differently. This project brought together statutory partners, third sector organisations, senior national policy/decision-makers, and children with lived experiences. It provided a unique opportunity to gather insight and to produce impactful recommendations. By involving and working with children in our project, we addressed the usual top-down research hierarchies inherent in youth justice research and ensured that children's voices were prioritised.

The project collected data from a number of stakeholders. Aggregate data is made available from Wales and England, and redacted individual level data from England.